


spiked eggnog and other things

by gracefullynoora



Category: Gossip Girl (TV 2007)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Party, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:16:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28199730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gracefullynoora/pseuds/gracefullynoora
Summary: It may have been winter in New York City, but Serena was melting. Or the one where Serena realizes her true feelings for Nate after divorcing Dan.
Relationships: Chuck Bass/Blair Waldorf, Nate Archibald/Serena van der Woodsen
Comments: 3
Kudos: 23





	spiked eggnog and other things

Serena had grown to enjoy the holiday season. As a girl, it was difficult to invest in Christmas when her mother had a knack for abandoning any tradition or routine for the sake of the new man she was dating. One year she and Eric had to spend Christmas at the Waldorfs after their mother had decided to spend the holidays with her new boyfriend’s family. Now she was older and had started to appreciate the season, partly thanks to Chuck and Blair. Ever since they got married, on Christmas Eve the Basses hosted an elaborate dinner for friends and family. It gave Serena solace, and she was especially looking forward to it this year.

Just this January, Serena and Dan had officially divorced. They had filed their divorce papers in October of the previous year and Serena had been so upset, she decided to skip the holidays in order to spend a month at a yoga retreat, much to Blair’s disapproval. Years later, and Serena was still running from her problems. Their marriage fell apart partly due to Dan’s sole determination of being the greatest author alive, despite already being a New York Times bestselling author and winning the Pulitzer Prize in fiction. He had also been attached to a version of herself that she just wasn’t anymore and it made her feel terrible throughout their marriage. 

This was the first time Serena was attending Chuck and Blair’s party solo. For the last eight years, she always had Dan on her side. With a deep breath, Serena entered Chuck and Blair’s penthouse fully decorated for Christmas. Blair had outdone herself this year with a lavish gold theme and enough twinkling lights to feel dizzy. On each table was a fresh arrangement of pine and red amaryllis and the entire home smelled of baked gingerbread. 

“Auntie Serena!” 

Serena looked up to see Helena was running down the stairs, her gold bow flying in her dark hair. 

“Hi kiddo,” Serena smiled, pulling her goddaughter into a tight hug. 

“Are any of those for me?” Helena asked, eagerly eyeing the presents that a caterer had just taken away from Serena.

Serena shrugged coyly. “You’re just going to have to wait and see later, aren’t you?” 

Helena pouted playfully before she ran off to join her cousins and Serena laughed. She adored her goddaughter. She may technically also be Henry’s godmother, but her and Helena had a special bond that no one could tether. Serena recognized the same free spiritedness in Helena that she had. Neither Blair nor Chuck were going to like that when she got older. 

From the corner of her eye she spotted Nate, whiskey in hand and talking to Aaron. She was surprised Aaron showed up, he rarely showed up to Christmas parties and last she heard he was doing some artist’s retreat in France. But Nate was always a constant at any function hosted by Chuck and Blair. And he looked so good tonight. Being a politician like many of the Vanderbilts in his family really suited him. He had a glow of authority that she first noticed when he started working at  _ The Spectator _ . He ran a hand through his hair and her stomach flipped. She peered around, looking to see if she could spot Nate’s girlfriend, but she was nowhere to be found.

“Serena!!!!” Blair yelled, choosing to greet her by crushing her into a hug. 

“Hi, B,” Serena laughed. “Are you sure you should be hugging me like that in your condition?”

“Oh, this?” Blair pointed to her belly. She was five months away from having her third child. “Nothing we can’t pay my doctor can’t take care of. I promise we’ll chat later but I just saw Dorota mixing the place cards. It seems like even on Christmas Eve, I have to scold her.” 

Blair smiled, placing her hand delicately on Serena’s arm in a gesture of love. She turned around, her gorgeous floor length gown trailing behind her. After speaking with Dorota, Blair went to find Chuck. Chuck placed a hand tenderly on her lower back. Grabbing both her hands, he brought them to his lips and Serena’s stomach sank. She was used to Chuck and Blair and their intimate moments, but she still felt small peering into a love so powerful and equally unattainable. She was beginning to think she would never have anything like it. 

Serena watched them enviably. Two kids and one on the way, Chuck and Blair were still the same couple that fell in love their junior year of high school. They were certainly different now as adults than they were in the hallways of Constance and St. Jude but they had grown together, side by side. They supported one another in a way that was almost indecipherable to Serena. They matured alongside each other, and even in their almost ten years of marriage, they still found ways to be playful and scheme and mirror parts of themselves that others didn’t always get to see. Serena and Dan hadn’t grown together at all. If anything, they had grown more and more apart with each passing day the years that they were married. They had been stagnant. 

She wanted to grow towards someone not away from them like she had with Dan. And she realized that all around her were couples that had found what they needed in someone else. Her mother now had her father. Nate and his girlfriend, wherever she was, were rumoured to be getting engaged soon. Even Georgina and Jack had each other. Overwhelmed, Serena needed a moment to escape and found her way to the hallway upstairs filled with photos of family and friends. 

With the party going on in her periphery downstairs, Serena collapsed on top of the blue velvet chaise. Head in her hands, she sighed.  _ I really need a drink.  _

“A drink, huh?” 

Serena snapped up, eyes reaching Nate’s, who was walking up the stairs with two drinks in hand. 

“Was I talking out loud again?” Serena asked, not even mortified but rather relieved. She was so happy to see Nate. 

“It appears so. But luckily for you, I must have heard your prayers because I figured you could do with a drink.” 

Nate handed her a glass of spiked eggnog. Their fingers briefly touched and an unexpected jolt of electricity coursed through her body. She tried to ignore it. “Thank you. How did you know?”

“Well, I knew you’d probably be having a hard time since this is your first Christmas party since the divorce, so,” Nate shrugged bashfully and uncertain.

“You guessed right Archibald,” Serena chuckled and took a drink of the eggnog. “Oh my God! How much rum did you put in this?!” 

Nate’s eyebrows raised quizzically and he took a sip of his drink. “OH!” He recoiled. “Okay yea, let’s not drink that before dinner,” he laughed as he grabbed both of their drinks and set them down on the floor. “Serves me right for letting Jack bartend.”

“You can’t trust that man with anything. I hope he doesn’t give them out to the kids.”

“Knowing Jack, he will,” Nate smiled his famous golden boy smile. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m fine, really. It’s just weird being alone during the holidays. I mean, I was last year but it didn’t feel as real as it does this year, does that make sense?”

“Sure, it’s official this time around.”

“Exactly,” Serena said. “What about you? How’s Naomi?”

“We actually broke up last month,” Nate admitted. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry Nate.”

“It’s fine,” he said. “How could you have known?” This was sadly true. Serena wouldn’t have because Nate and Serena hadn’t really seen each other for a while. Nate had been busy in public office and Serena had been busy being a socialite, their paths crossing were sparse these days. But it didn’t mean they had stopped caring for one another. They did text almost every day but she supposed a break up wasn’t really something Nate would want to share over iMessage. 

This explained Naomi’s absence downstairs. Normally, Naomi would cling to Nate since she usually felt uncomfortable at their Upper East Side gatherings, which was greatly attributed to her upbringing. She was raised on a farm in Kentucky, miles away from Manhattan. She may be an emerging icon as far as her modelling career was concerned, but she had yet to fully infiltrate the ranks of New York high society. Regardless, Nate had doted on her and been really serious about their relationship. 

Serena placed a delicate hand on Nate’s knee. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. “What changed between you guys?”

“Well, we were so different to begin with weren’t we?” Nate chuckled but pressed on. “I think Naomi realized that this just wasn’t what neither of us really wanted.” 

Nate covered Serena’s hand with his, in a symbol of gratitude but it quickly shifted into something more. Locking eyes with Nate’s icy blues, Serena began to wonder if Nate was who she wanted all along. What Serena desperately wanted in a partner was someone she could rely on. A constant and bright presence in her life. And wasn’t Nate all of those things? They were cut from similar families and had grown up not only together but in parallel to each other. They seemed to always find their way back to one another whether as lovers or best friends. 

She felt that maybe Nate was thinking these same things too. His face was getting misty and glazed over. Her face was probably mirroring his, both of them stuck in permanent expressions of realization. Serena now knew that the love she had for Nate had never left her, not one day since they broke up so long ago. 

Hoping that she wasn’t wrong and Nate wouldn’t reject her, Serena placed her fingers on his jaw. Gently stroking his stubble, Serena leaned in and pressed her lips against his. Immediately, Nate kissed her back and ran his hands through her gold locks. His lips tasted like peppermint and nutmeg. It may have been winter in New York City, but Serena was melting. Nates hands on her felt like sunshine in July. 

“What are we doing?” Nate asked, breathless between kisses. 

“I think we’re kissing,” Serena giggled sincerely. 

Nate pulled himself away from Serena’s touch. He began to run a hand through his hair and fix his disheveled suit. He began to laugh in amazement. “Serena van der Woodsen, you’re always surprising me.” 

With a twinkle in her eyes, Serena edged closer to him for a second helping but before she could reach him, she heard the sound of a throat clearing. Dorota was standing at the top of the stairs, in both shock and excitement. She did not want to know what she saw or what she would tell Blair before Serena had the chance to. 

“Mr. Chuck and Mrs. Blair wanted me to find you two because Christmas Eve dinner is ready,” she told them, running off to help serve dinner. 

With a disappointed sigh, Nate got up and turned to Serena. “To be continued?”

Serena bit her lips hungrily. “To be continued.”


End file.
